Toronto – July 3, 2017 – The mid-year Canada’s Food Price Report, published by Dalhousie University, projects that food prices will rise between three and four percent this year.

For meat products, consumers can expect prices to jump seven to nine percent by the end of the year. The price increases are due to low inventories – particularly for hogs and cattle – and because grocers will be boosting prices this year to increase profits after last year's deflation.

Produce prices are also expected to rise, as fruit prices are projected to increase by five percent and vegetable prices by as much as four percent by the end of the year. A major factor for the increase will be the loss of crops in California, due to an unexpectedly rainy winter.

Prices for dairy, eggs, baked goods, and cereals, meanwhile, are expected to drop between one and three percent.

Source: "Canada's Food Price Report – Mid-Year Update," Dalhousie University, 2017.